Griffey HRs in Mariners' 5-1 win over Dodgers

Jun 28, 2009 - 6:22 AM
LOS ANGELES(AP) -- The Seattle Mariners overcame some distressing
news from ailing third baseman Adrian Beltre, and evened their
interleague series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with another
dominating performance by Felix Hernandez.

Hernandez scattered four hits over eight innings, Ken Griffey
Jr. and Russell Branyan each hit home runs, and the Mariners
beat the Dodgers 5-1 on Saturday night for their eighth victory
in 11 games.

Beltre informed the club that he'll undergo surgery Tuesday in
Los Angeles to have bone spurs removed from his troublesome left
shoulder, which was operated on in September for the same
reason. He's expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks
after Angels team physician Lewis Yocum performs the procedure.

"I don't think I'll be able to help the team the way I want to
because of the way I'm feeling right now," said Beltre, who
flied out to the warning track in center field his first time
up. "It's gotten to the point where it's really painful. There
were a couple of pitches tonight that I couldn't get to because
of the shoulder, so I think it's probably better to go fix it
and come back 100 percent."

Beltre singled in five at-bats and threw out two batters at
first base. Manager Don Wakamatsu said after the game that
Beltre would be in the lineup again in Sunday's series finale if
he's up to it.

"He's played with a lot of pain," Wakamatsu said. "He's a guy
who brings a lot of presence to our clubhouse and a lot of
presence to that lineup. And over the last three or four weeks,
he's really started to swing the bat. So we're going to miss him
a lot. It's unfortunate that he has to go through that. But this
club has responded to a lot of tragedy and a lot of hard times,
and we'll be OK."

Beltre, who also had thumb surgery on the same day as the first
operation on his non-throwing shoulder, will be going on the
disabled list for the third time in his 12-year career and first
time in five seasons with the Mariners. The two-time Gold Glove
winner, who becomes a free agent at the end of the season, is
batting .259 with five homers and 30 RBIs.

Hernandez (8-3) allowed an unearned run, struck out nine and
walked one. Rafael Furcal reached on an infield hit in the third
inning and scored from third when eight-time Gold Glove right
fielder Ichiro Suzuki misplayed Casey Blake's sinking liner for
his second error of the season.

Hernandez retired his next 12 batters and 16 of his final 17
before David Aardsma finished up.

"Felix was just outstanding," Wakamatsu said. "I think this game
was the best I've seen him with his stuff. He was just
dominating with his off-speed stuff and his fastball was
electric. Just the way he's been taking the mound, I can't say
enough about him. He's at the top of his game right now, and
probably as good as anybody in the game."

The 23-year-old right-hander is 4-0 with a 0.85 ERA in seven
starts - including a two-hit shutout at San Diego - since giving
up six runs over 5 2-3 innings in a 6-5 loss to the Angels on
May 19 at Seattle.

"He's one of a handful of pitchers in the game who can dominate
like that," Los Angeles manager Joe Torre said.

Suzuki went 3 for 5 to raise his major league-leading average to
.375 and record his seventh straight multihit game, matching his
career best.

Eric Milton (2-1) gave up four runs and seven hits in five
innings, striking out seven and walking none. The 33-year-old
lefty, activated from the DL earlier in the day after missing 17
games because of a back strain, is 1-6 with a 9.18 ERA in 10
career starts against Seattle.

The Mariners increased their margin to 4-0 in the third when
Suzuki led off with a single, Branyan followed with his first
triple of the season and Griffey drove a 1-1 pitch into the
right-field pavilion for his ninth homer this season and 620th
of his career - fifth on the all-time list.

The homer was Griffey's 55th during interleague play, keeping
him one shy of Jim Thome for the most in that category since the
format was established in 1997. Thome also homered Saturday.

Griffey, 39, has homered in three of the last five games in
which he's had an at-bat.

NOTES: Manny Ramirez, eligible to return from his 50-game
substance abuse suspension next Friday, was 2 for 2 with a home
run for Class A Inland Empire at Lake Elsinore, leading off as
the DH. The Dodgers are 27-19 during his absence, the best
record in the majors since the ban was announced May 7. ...
Griffey's homer was his first at Dodger Stadium since Mother's
Day 2007, and it came with his wife, Melissa, in the stands
celebrating her birthday. ... Seattle has won the last eight
interleague games in which Hernandez has started, and he has
gotten the decision in five of them.